Workouts for Busy Women (and Men)

If you're like most women, you probably don't always have a block of 30 to 60 minutes a day to devote exclusively to doing your workouts, as recommended by experts.

You can still have your exercise -- you just need to steal the equivalent in resourceful ways. "The idea is to keep moving," fitness expert Ann Grandjean, EdD explained. "Park half a mile from the mall and walk to get there.Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get a cordless phone or put a long cord on your regular phone, and walk while you talk. Find whatever works for you and just move. Those little, itty-bitty things add up."

Every Stolen Moment Adds Up

Don’t even think that short bursts of activity have no effect on your fitness program. Think again. One study found that women who split their exercise into 10-minute increments were more likely to exercise consistently, and lost more weight after 5 months, than women who exercised for 20 to 40 minutes at a time.

Exercise physiologist Glenn Gaesser, PhD, from University of Virginia conducted a study. In his study he asked men and women to complete 15 10-minute exercise routines a week. After just 21 days, the volunteers' aerobic fitness was equal to that of people 10 to 15 years younger. Their strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility were equal to those of people up to 20 years their junior. "It would be useful for people to get out of the all-or-nothing mind-set that unless they exercise for 30 minutes, they're wasting their time," says Gaesser.

Another study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore found that short bursts of activity are as effective as longer, structured workouts for improving health and fitness in inactive adults.

Splitting exercise into small chunks on your overscheduled days can also keep your confidence up, says Harold Taylor, time management expert and owner of Harold Taylor Time Consultants in Toronto, who has written extensively on the subject. "Skipping exercise altogether is 'de-motivational' – you’ll feel depressed and guilty," Taylor says. "If you skip it, you tend to figure, 'What's the use? I can't keep up with it anyway.' Yet as long as you make some effort each day, that motivates you onward. Success breeds success."

Keep in mind, though, that short bursts of exercise are meant to supplement, not replace, your regular fitness routine.

Image courtesy of BodyKore.